Chula Vista is a city of 272,200 in San Diego County, about 10 miles southeast of downtown San Diego · Updated November 2026
How common is property crime in Chula Vista?
Chula Vista earns a B for property crime, with more property crime than the neighborhoods where 68% of Americans live. Theft makes up 46% of it. Burglary, the crime most likely to reach into a home, grades A-, and vehicle theft grades C+.
B
Property crime CrimeGrade™
Safety score 683 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
32% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more property crime than Chula Vista as a whole, and 68% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a property crime safety score of 823, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Chula Vista scores 683.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more property crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its property crime with the homes, parked cars and people there, on one national scale, from green for the least to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Chula Vista, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Chula Vista, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out about property crime in Chula Vista
Theft runs low. Chula Vista has 6.8 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, about half the US rate of 13.1.
Thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks far more often than nationally. In Chula Vista, 39% of reported thefts from cars happen on streets and sidewalks, against 18% nationally.
Where property crime is lowest and highest in Chula Vista
Most of Chula Vista grades well for property crime: 80% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 4% in areas graded D or F. Property crime grades across Chula Vista run from A to F.
80%16%
A or B 80%C 16%D or F 4%
Share of residents, by the property crime CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
2Sunbow & Otay Mesa West, southThefts run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Chula Vista.B+752
3Rancho del Rey & Terra Nova, northActs of vandalism run about 40% lower here than in the rest of Chula Vista.B+707
4Otay Ranch, eastBurglaries run about 30% lower here than in the rest of Chula Vista.B683
5Boal, southwestBurglaries run about 40% higher here than in the rest of Chula Vista.B660
6Lynwood Hills & Paseo Ranchoero, centralCar thefts run about 50% higher here than in the rest of Chula Vista.B638
7Downtown Chula Vista, northwestThefts run about 70% higher here than in the rest of Chula Vista.C+505
Neighborhood areas of Chula Vista, ranked by property crime CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer). Each one combines several of the smaller areas on the map.
Is property crime going up in Chula Vista?
Reported property crime in Chula Vista has fallen 21% since 2019. Burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts went from about 14 to 11 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 18). In 2024 alone, property crime fell 15%.
Property crime, change since 2019
Chula VistaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police department that serves Chula Vista. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Property, Chula Vista
Property, US
2016
+14%
+15%
2017
+3%
+12%
2018
-5%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
2020
-16%
-8%
2021
-11%
-10%
2022
-8%
-6%
2023
-8%
-7%
2024
-21%
-15%
Property crime rates and types in Chula Vista
CrimeGrade™ estimates Chula Vista has about 15 reported property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 37% less than the US as a whole and 46% less than California.
All property crime
Burglary
Vehicle theft
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. Property crime here includes vandalism, which the FBI's property crime rate leaves out.
Theft is the most common property crime in Chula Vista, about 46% of the total, followed by vandalism and vehicle theft.
Each CrimeGrade™ here compares a property crime with what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for vehicle theft, people and parking for theft, homes and businesses for vandalism. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when property crime happens in Chula Vista
Chula Vista has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Chula Vista, 35% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Car thefts happen most often on streets and sidewalks: 46% of them, against 27% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Stores and businesses (44%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Streets and sidewalks (39%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (28%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
Property crime in Chula Vista and nearby cities
Chula Vista has less property crime than 7 of its 10 nearest cities.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Chula Vista. Beside each property crime CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Chula Vista is safer than 74% of them.
Among the traits that tend to go with property crime, two set Chula Vista apart: it has 55% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally, and 27 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places where many residents live in dense blocks tend to report more car theft, and it runs high here.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more car theft.55% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 85% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Chula Vista: D+ (22 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 72% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (23 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 69% of US city residents
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft.27 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 77% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 76% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.9 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 74% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What property crime costs Chula Vista
Property crime costs Chula Vista about $34 million a year, or $124 per resident and about $405 per household: the value of what is stolen or damaged, plus the police, courts and prisons that respond.
Cost of property crime per resident, per year
How the cost breaks down
Pain and suffering add little to the cost of property crime, so this is close to its full cost.
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Burglary
$3.3 million
$12
Theft
$9.5 million
$35
Vehicle theft
$14 million
$50
Arson
$890,000
$3
Vandalism
$6.5 million
$24
Total
$34 million
$124
How CrimeGrade™ works
The property crime CrimeGrade™ covers burglary, theft, car theft, arson and vandalism, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most, on one scale for the whole country.
It weighs each property crime against what it affects: homes for burglary and arson, parked cars for car theft, and the people and parking around stores for theft.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Chula Vista is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
